Positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) is used in the treatment of infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) to prevent atelectasis, recruit alveolar space and return the functional residual capacity (FRC) toward normal volumes. This study determined the FRC range of 15 prematurely born infants with RDS receiving PEEP. Ventilator settings were controlled clinically using predominantly results of arterial blood-gas analyses. Measurements of arterial blood-gases and FRC (N2 washout) were made during the infants' second day of life. The FRC of the infants on a PEEP of 4.5 +/- 1.3 cmH2O ranged widely from 3 to 33 ml/kg with a mean of 14.5 ml/kg; 17 +/- 2 ml/kg was considered normal. The FRC was within one SD of the mean in only three of the 15 infants (20%) and outside of two SD of normal in seven (47%). A linear regression of calculated alveolar-arterial oxygen gradient (AaDo2) with FRC yielded a correlation coefficient r = 0.825. The AaDo2 values could be used to identify six of the seven infants having FRC outside of 2SD from normal. We conclude that convential methods of PEEP selection for infants with RDS seldom result in a normalization of FRC. Calculated AaDo2 values may be used to identify most RDS infants with FRC widely divergent from normal values.

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that ventilation of rabbit lungs (whose mechanics are similar to those of human infants) at rapid rates will lead to large alterations in tracheal airway pressures, tidal volume, and functional residual capacity (FRC) with only minor changes in arterial blood gases. Thirteen rabbits were ventilated at rates of 30, 60, 90, and 120 breaths per minutes (BPM) with pressures of 17/2 cm H2O. Tracheal peak inspiratory pressure (PIP) was always lower than ventilator PIP and decreased to 11 +/- 1 cm H2O at 120 BPM. Positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) in the trachea was always greater than 2 cm H2O and increased with rate (3.5 cm H2O at 120 BPM). Tidal volume decreased as rates were increased such that rates above 60 BPM resulted in insignificant changes in minute ventilation and arterial blood gases. However, the FRC increased from 16 (30 BPM) to 25 ml/kg (120 BPM), a 56% increase, suggesting large increases in end-expiratory alveolar pressure. We conclude that rapid-rate ventilation (greater than 60 BPM) of healthy rabbits results in significant increases in both tracheal PEEP and FRC without significantly affecting arterial blood gases. The increased tracheal PEEP and FRC are manifestations of inadvertent PEEP. The increased FRC without concomitant increase in PaO2 implicates alveolar overdistention. We speculate that rapid-rate ventilation of human infants having lung mechanics similar to rabbits, will also result in inadvertent PEEP and alveolar overdistention.

The objective of this research was to determine the oxygen consumption of newborn infants with respiratory distress syndrome in the first 4 days of life. Serial determinations of oxygen consumption were made in 14 infants with respiratory distress syndrome receiving positive end-expiratory pressures. The mean ( ± SE) oxygen consumption determined at 24, 48, 72, and 96 h postnatal age were 8.3 ± 0.9, 6.5 ± 0.8, 5.5 ± 0.5, and 5.3 ± 0.6 ml/min/kg, respectively. The level of oxygen consumption at 24 h postnatal age was significantly greater than the levels determined at 48, 72, and 96 h (p < 0.03). The oxygen levels found at 72 and 96 h of age were comparable to those determined for healthy preterm infants. A linear regression of serial oxygen consumption and weight loss yielded a ‘fair’ (r = 0.5) correlation with a significant inference (p < 0.01).

This study determined the effects of end-expiratory pressures (EEP) and alterations in end-expiratory lung volume (EELV) on lung compliance (C_L) and pulmonary resistance to gas flow (R_P) in 20 cats with normal and edematous lungs. EELV was varied using EEP ranging from -8 to +10 cm H₂O. Negative EEP was used to decrease EELV of the healthy lung causing C_L to decrease and R_P to increase. Positive EEP in the healthy lung also caused C_L to decrease but did not significantly affect R_p. After inducing pulmonary edema using alloxan, functional residual capacity (FRC) decreased 38%, C_L decreased 66% and R_P increased 106% (p < 0.001). An EEP of 4 cm H₂O returned EELV to normal FRC levels and produced maximum values for C_L Increases in EEP to 4 cm H₂O also caused decreases in R_P in the edematous lungs but further increase did not cause significant changes in R_P. These results show that (1) relatively low levels of EEP returned EELV to normal FRC levels in alloxan-induced pulmonary edema, and (2) optimal lung mechanics were obtained when EELV was equal to or slightly above normal FRC values in both healthy and edematous lungs.

Since high frequency jet ventilation (HFJV) relies on lung mechanics for the passive removal of expiratory gas, one would predict that the time allowed for exhalation would have serious effects on cardiopulmonary function. To document these effects we lavaged the lungs of ten cats with 30 ml/kg of saline six times, then sampled arterial and venous blood while the animals were ventilated conventionally at 30 BPM and then with HFJV at 600 BPM, varying inspiratory/expiratory ratios (I/E) from 1:1 to 1:5. The animals breathed 100% O2 throughout the study, and the mean airway pressure was held constant for each animal when the I/E was varied during HFJV. Decreasing the I/E from 1:1 to 1:5 during HFJV resulted in an increase of arterial oxygen content (Cao2) from 11.3 +/- 1.2S E to 13.6 +/- 1.2 ml O2/100 ml blood (P less than 0.01), a decrease of PaCO2 from 43 +/- 6 to 27 +/- 4 mm Hg, and an increase of alveolar to arterial oxygen gradient from 351 +/- 49 to 377 +/- 49 mm Hg. The ratio of systemic blood flow to oxygen consumption (Q/VO2) was similar during conventional ventilation and with HFJV at I/E of 1:1 (18.9 +/- 3.7 vs 18.0 +/- 2.9) but decreased when I/E was reduced to 1:5 during HFJV (13.9 +/- 2.1). The ratio of the product of CaO2 and Q (systemic oxygen availability) to VO2 (SO2 T/VO2) remained unchanged during all modes of ventilation (1.75 +/- 0.15). The increase in CaO2 observed when I/E was reduced from 1:1 to 1:5 during HFJV was counterbalanced by a decrease in Q/VO2 such that SO2 T/VO2 remained relatively constant.